Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran (; 26 September 1950 – 5 June 1974) was a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

rebel and the first Tamil militant to commit suicide by swallowing

cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...

Early life and family

Sivakumaran was born on 26 September 1950. He was the son of Ponnuthurai, principal of Urumpirai Hindu Tamil Vidyasalai, and Annalakshmi. Sivakumaran's father and mother were both supporters of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi and its leader S. J. V. Chelvanayakam which influenced Sivakumaran's own political beliefs. Sivakumaran had two brothers and a sister. He was educated at Urumpirai Hindu College and

Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College (; ; abbreviated as JHC) is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1887 by a group of Hinduism in Sri Lanka, Hindu people who wanted an English language alternative to the Christi ...

. After school he joined Kokkuvil Junior Technical College but dropped out after two months.

Militancy

Sivakumaran became a supporter of an armed struggle. In 1969 a small group of militant Tamil youths from Valvettithurai formed an underground group. The group was known as the Thangadurai Group and was led by Thangadurai and

Kuttimani Selvarajah Yogachandran, () (died 25 July 1983) also known as Kuttimani was one of the leaders of the former Tamil militant organization Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization, TELO from Sri Lanka. He was arrested and sentenced to death, and was ki ...

. The group would later be known as the Tamil Liberation Organisation (TLO). Other members of the group included V. Prabhakaran, Sri Sabaratnam, Sivakumaran, Periya Sothi, Chinna Sothi, Chetti and Kannadi. In 1971 Sivakumaran joined the Tamil Student Federation (Tamil Manavar Peravai) (TSF), which had been formed in 1970 by Ponnuthurai Sathiyaseelan. Sivakumaran later left the TSF and formed his own group which was known as the Sivakumaran Group. Whilst speaking at an event at Colombo Hindu College in July 1970 Deputy Minister of Cultural Affairs Somaweera Chandrasiri, a Sinhalese politician, claimed that Sinhalese and Tamil cultures were linked. Sivakumaran was angered by this. In September 1970 Sivakumaran tried to assassinate Chandrasiri as he visited Urumpirai Hindu College. Sivakumaran placed a

time bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a ...

under Chandrasiri's car and quietly slipped away but when the bomb exploded no one was in the car. No one suspected Sivakumaran. Mayor of Jaffna Alfred Duraiappah was a member of the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party and its chief organiser in

Jaffna District Jaffna District ( ''Yāḻppāṇam Māvaṭṭam''; ''yāpanaya distrikkaya'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a ...

. Tamil militants considered Duraiappah to be a traitor and government collaborator. In February 1971 Sivakumaran tried to assassinate Duraiappah by throwing a hand grenade on to Duraiappah's car which was parked on Second Cross Road in Jaffna. Duraiappah was not inside the car at the time. This time the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

found out that Sivakumaran was involved and started a manhunt for him. In 1972 and 1973 the police arrested many Tamil youths suspected of being militants. As a result, Sivakumaran's militant activities slowed down. In January 1974 nine civilians were massacred by the police at the World Tamil Conference in Jaffna. Tamil militants blamed the government and Posts and Telecommunications Minister Chelliah Kumarasuriar for the massacre. Sivakumaran however blamed Duraiappah and ASP S. K. Chandrasekera for the massacre and sought vengeance. Fearing torture if he was arrested, Sivakumaran started carrying

pills. On 4 June 1974 TSF militants including Sivakumaran attempted to rob the People's Bank in Kopay. As the bank's police guards gave chase, a cornered Sivakumaran swallowed a

vial A vial (also known as a phial or flacon) is a small glass or plastic vessel or bottle, often used to store medication in the form of liquids, powders, or capsules. They can also be used as scientific sample vessels; for instance, in autosam ...

of cyanide, dying instantly. Sivakumaran became the first Tamil militant to die in such a manner and the first Tamil "martyr". A large public funeral was held which was attended by senior Tamil politicians. Sivakumaran's body was taken in procession from Jaffna hospital to Urumpirai.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

leader V. Prabhakaran would later claim that Sivakumaran's death was the inspiration for LTTE cadres carrying cyanide capsules as standard equipment. A bronze statue of Sivakumaran was put up in Urumpirai but during the 1977 anti-Tamil riots the statue was destroyed by the police. The edifice was demolished by the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

during Operation Riviresa. The statue was re-built in 1999. 5 June is commemorated as Tamil Students' Day of Uprising or Sivakumaran Day in the

Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora refers to the global diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. It can be said to be a subset of the larger Sri Lankan and Tamil diaspora. Like other diasporas, Sri Lankan Tamils are scattered and dispersed around the g ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sivakumaran, Pon 1950 births 1974 suicides 1974 deaths Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Suicides by cyanide poisoning Suicides in Sri Lanka